My Top 25 Anime Recs For Beginners
Posted September 23rd, 2026
You've Probably Already Seen Anime Whether You Realize It Or Not
Before 2020/2021 when I realized how amazing this medium was, I thought I had never watched anime before and never would. I could not have been more wrong. But that’s a story for another post. The thing is, regardless of how you feel about anime now, I’d bet that for many of you, you’ve unknowingly already seen some and are closer to watching more than you realize.
So many people say they’ve never watched anime, but have actually at least seen a Ghibli movie at some point, or watched something on TV as a kid whether it be Pokemon, Beyblade, Bakugan, Dragon Ball, Naruto, Detective Conan, etc. And even if you somehow have truly never watched an anime (as in, an animated form of entertainment originating from Japan), I would argue that animated works from any other country are often highly similar. My own gateway to anime was Avatar the Last Airbender, the western 2000s Nickelodeon cartoon, which I watched as a young adult during COVID (it’s also a great example of a show aimed at kids but has surprising depth and entertainment value even to adults). In the end, I don’t even think you need to love the art form of animation to learn to enjoy anime. As long as you appreciate good media and storytelling, you can love anime.
Why Almost Anyone Could Enjoy Anime
Just like with pretty much everything else in life, it’s important to not put anime into a tight box, label it, and toss it aside because you think it won’t be for you. Anime is not just for kids, it’s not always about cheesy monologues or over the top action, and it can sometimes feel more realistic than even live action. It all depends on the show.
Regardless of your history with anime, or animated works in general, I truly believe almost anyone could find an anime they like. The amount of anime that exists is roughly on par with the number of Hollywood movies ever produced. So the options are for all intents and purposes, infinite. There’s any genre or topic you can think of and more, including weird, ambiguous ones that you wouldn’t even be able to describe; any art style you can imagine; any kind of humor that tickles your fancy; plots, characters, and themes for any maturity or interest level.
There’s truly a ton of depth and diversity to this medium, and it’s unfair to write it off without at least trying a couple of shows first. The real issue is not whether a title exists out there that you’d enjoy, but more so whether you’d be able to find the right one before you give up.
So What Is This Post About?
This is a list of my top 25 anime I’d recommend to people who have never watched anime, or for those who have only lightly dabbled here and there throughout the years but want to explore more.
Of course, “beginner friendly” is highly subjective, and so is “a good show.” I also don’t expect the very first show you try to necessarily be perfect for you. Remember that you can always drop a show. I’d recommend giving it 3 episodes if it’s still bearable, as that’s the general rule of thumb for anime. But if it’s truly untolerable, then just drop it immediately. You can also look for recommendations elsewhere obviously. There are quite literally countless sources of anime recommendations (Youtube, Reddit, podcasts, anime databases like MyAnimeList, etc.).
This is my list, based on the shows I’ve seen. I can’t recommend a show if I haven’t seen it, regardless of how widely acclaimed it may be or how often it’s recommended to newcomers. As such, I might also update this list/post once every few years if I’ve watched new shows that are more deserving of being on this list.
My goal is for you to be able to find something that at least sounds somewhat interesting off this list, and go give it a shot. I am hoping that at a minimum, whether you watch it to completion or not, you find an anime promising enough to then look for other shows with your newfound perspective.
How I Decide On What Is “Beginner Friendly”
I had no exact rubric for determining which shows were the most “beginner friendly.” This list was created based on gut feeling based roughly on a few factors, including:
- How “anime-ey” is it? The less the better for beginners. It’s one of those things that I can’t really describe and you’d have to watch a few “anime-ey” shows to know what that means. It’s a culmination of tropes, trends, cliches, etc., and is sometimes closely tied with Japanese culture (especially otaku culture). But when I say tropes, I don’t only mean tropey character archetypes or plots, I also mean it in the details. The dialogue, the types of recurring jokes, the way characters react to very specific events, etc. “Anime-ness” is often a reason people can’t get into anime (me included in the past), and I don’t blame them. It’s part of the common perception of anime being “immature” or “cringe.” Shows that feel more “universally” accessible and understandable are more likely to show up on this list.
- How much mass appeal does the show have? I tried to pick shows that are widely popular and/or were popular enough to even arguably cross into mainstream pop culture. This proves that it is good enough, or widely appealing enough, that people new to anime have liked it in the past.
- Is the show good? While these are certainly not my top 25 favorite shows, to make it on the list, I have to have found the show at the very least solid, regardless of how accessible it is for newcomers. This should be self-explanatory. I wouldn’t recommend shows I think are bad. There are one or two exceptions to this on the list, but I explain why they’re here in their respective sections.
- Does the show add diversity to the list? Without sacrificing what I subjectively consider quality, I try to make every show on this list feel different. It’s hard to blindly recommend shows with really niche content, but I tried to at least cover most of the more popular genres and types of shows.
IMPORTANT: How This List Is Organized
I have grouped the 25 anime roughly into what I would consider their primary genre. The two movies are an exception, where I grouped them as movies rather than by genre. The vast majority of anime realistically fall between several genres and subgenres. I have listed some of the additional genres for each show based on my interpretation of the genres, but it’s not perfect (even different anime databases often have different genres and tags for each show). I also mention the status (ongoing/concluded) and rough length of the show (anime often have episodes/movies that feature spinoffs or side stories, summaries, etc., and I don’t mention all of those in detail).
Even though I use a numbered list, these shows are not put in any particular order aside from being roughly grouped based on genre. One show is not better and/or more “beginner-friendly” than the other because it’s higher or lower on the list.
Movies
Genres: Drama, Supernatural, Mystery
Status: Concluded
Length: Standalone movie (1 hr 46 mins)
This 2016 international hit follows two teenagers who mysteriously regularly swap bodies across time and space. Their actions begin to shape each other’s lives, as if an invisible thread connects them. What’s to come of their futures as this thread of fate continues to be woven?
Director and filmmaker Makoto Shinkai is a household name in the anime movie space, and Your Name is undoubtedly his most well-known work (some may say his best too). Aside from Studio Ghibli films, Your Name was arguably the first anime movie to ever become mainstream. This popularity is a large part of why I’ve put it on this list: I think it’s reflective of how widely appealing the movie is regardless of if you’re a long-time anime watcher or have never seen one in your entire life.
But why might it be so popular? Well, just like with seemingly all of Shinkai’s films, it looks beautiful. If nothing else, it’s a great <2 hours of visual spectacle, even if you somehow did not connect at all with any of the several emotional and thematic ideas explored in this rather spiritual story. Some of these concepts include fate, human bonds, empathy through experience, memory, grief, and growing up. To top it all off, Your Name boasts a stunningly wonderful soundtrack. It’s good enough where it became a (dumb) flex to say you were a RADWIMPS (name of the band) fan even before the movie came out.
Your Name is a great anime to start with because it’s a rather short investment at only 1 movie. Between the visuals, mystery, and myriad of themes, you’re bound to enjoy at least some part of it, and hopefully, itch for more anime.
Genres: Adventure, Fantasy, Mythology
Status: Concluded
Length: Standalone movie, 2 hrs 4 mins
Spirited Away follows the whimsical, spiritual adventure of a 10-year-old girl, Chihiro, who stumbles across an abandoned amusement park that is actually a mystical gateway to a world full of gods, magic, and spirits. She must find a way to save and escape with her parents, who gorged on food meant for spirits and were transformed into pigs. It’s a wonderful story of maturation, identity, consumerism, greed, and environmentalism that will awe and connect with many viewers.
There’s a very good chance you’ve previously heard of this landmark movie released in 2001 by the famed Studio Ghibli. Spirited Away won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, becoming the first hand-drawn, non-English-language animated film to do so. It also held the record as the highest-grossing film in Japanese history for nearly two decades. To this day, some critics and audiences still consider this one of the best films ever created, animated or not.
Studio Ghibli’s films are all quite fantastic, and several have managed to arguably cross into the mainstream sphere. No one would call you a “weeb” if you only watched Ghibli films. In some ways, it almost feels like they’re not counted as anime anymore. As such, if you haven’t already seen some of their films, I think it’s a great place to start. These films can show you how beautiful animation can be, and how mature anime can be. Pretty much any of their films would do, but I chose Spirited Away for the list because I believe it’s the most well-loved by the western audience (which should be the main audience of this blog). As a shout-out, My Neighbor Totoro is my personal favorite, but I recognize that I am definitely biased after growing up with it, and that it can feel boring to others.
Action
Genres: Action, Adventure, Drama, Fantasy, Military, Shounen
Status: Concluded
Length: 64 episodes (~24 min each), a few specials/side stories
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, or FMAB for short, follows two brothers who had horrifically botched an alchemy experiment, resulting in one of them losing a limb and the other losing their entire physical body (with their soul now tied to an armored suit instead). On their journey to fix their bodies, they become involved in a growing conspiracy that threatens the lives of their entire nation.
FMAB is not to be confused with the show Fullmetal Alchemist (FMA). FMA was also an anime adaptation of the original manga, but it quickly outpaced the manga and started to tell its own story. FMAB is the adaptation done all over again, this time following the source material from start to finish. FMAB is widely considered the better show and what everyone would suggest watching, though FMA is still objectively great, and in niche situations, perhaps better for some people drawn to its much darker tone.
FMAB is also widely considered the “golden standard” of all anime. It’s the “perfect” vanilla show. On several anime databases, it is consistently ranked in the top 3 or 5 of all anime ever. In fact, until Frieren came out in 2023 (a show that would likely be on this list if I had seen it), FMAB was the number 1 ranked show ever since it aired in 2009 (only temporarily dethroned by new sequel seasons of certain shows).
Ratings are certainly not everything, but I think this consistency does speak to both FMAB’s quality and mass appeal. When blindly recommending shows for a newcomer, mass-appeal is very important. I (and apparently almost everyone else in the community) think FMAB has a fantastic mix of so many elements that make it so widely loved. There’s a good balance between levity/comedy and serious moments, appeal for teens and darker more mature themes for adults, as well as exciting action and thoughtful quiet moments. There’s also some romance, mystery, heartbreak, and more. The most crucial part is that it’s all executed well. FMAB is truly a strong, well thought-out, and cohesive story throughout.
It’s hard to dislike the show. At worst you’ll think it’s ok. With that being said, 64 episodes is quite a lot, so if it’s just “ok” for you, you could still consider dropping it of course. Just please give this one a bit more of a shot than some of the others. I truly think most people will enjoy it. The thing that I think will turn most of my readers off from this if anything is that it is ultimately a shounen (demographically targeting male teens). Despite some of the darker moments and great storytelling, I can understand if it still just feels a little “childish.” But I implore you to try it for yourself first.
Genres: Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Adult Cast, Urban Fantasy
Status: Ongoing
Length: 25 episodes (~23 mins each), a summary film, sequel movie in production
In Solo Leveling, rifts called dungeons spitting out monsters begin to spawn on Earth. Simultaneously, certain humans are randomly imbued with varying degrees of power. These “hunters” are tasked with entering dungeons to kill the boss for the rift to close. Sung Jin-Woo starts off as seemingly the weakest hunter possible, before gaining inexplicable supernatural powers that allow him to “level up” and become stronger with training, which was previously thought impossible.
It’s hardly a very inspired premise, but the execution is quite solid for what it is. This is fundamentally just another power fantasy (overpowered main character, quite a common trope in anime), but admittedly it rarely looks and sounds as good as Solo Leveling. I once heard a reviewer describe the show as something along the lines of “it’s like another one of those shows where you just turn your brain off and enjoy the visuals, except it’s good enough at that where it’ll turn your brain off for you,” and I think that’s a very apt description. You know the term “popcorn movie” describing movies that are entertaining and fun rather than artistic or deep? This is basically the anime version of that at its peak.
Solo Leveling is actually an anime adaptation of a Korean manhwa done by a Japanese studio, and broke numerous traffic records on major streaming platforms (or at least, the second season did). It really was all the rage, and I recall even hearing about celebrities who tweeted about it. In other words, this is another anime that managed to arguably cross into mainstream pop culture. It fits on the list because clearly, there’s a lot of mass appeal, even for people who maybe don’t normally watch anime.
I recommend this show if you like spectacular action sequences and amazing animation, and/or are tired of the classic hero’s journey story. To oversimplify and slightly exaggerate what the hero’s journey often feels like to viewers, it’s where the main character is weak and repeatedly trains to get stronger for the next fight but is outmatched on paper every time and wins by the skin of their teeth through will power and friendship. They may or may not also be wimpy for most of the story. Solo Leveling features a strong, confident, and cool main character instead (not every fight is easy, but he’s more than competent and completely overpowered compared to his allies). It gets old pretty fast when you know he can’t lose, but it’s also a nice change of pace compared to the hero’s journey. As mentioned above, this is peak “turn your brain off and enjoy cool explosions.”
Genres: Action, Comedy, Adult Cast, Parody, Super Power
Status: Ongoing
Length: 36 episodes (~24 mins each), a few side story episodes, season 3 part 2 in production
As the title would suggest, One Punch Man (OPM) is an anime about a “superhero” who defeats all his enemies in, well, one punch. This may sound lame, but the entire show is pretty much just a parody on the stereotypical superhero show. That’s also why I called him a “superhero,” because Saitama more or less just acts like a regular lazy dude who wants nothing more than to catch discounts at his grocery store and play video games. The entire joke is that he’s completely and utterly overpowered, but he doesn’t even entirely realize it in the sense that he can’t tell just how strong he is compared to all the other superheroes and villains. The show is really comical, and season 1 has gorgeous animation. It truly was a generationally rare moment getting all the best staff across the industry. Now, you might be asking how there could be great action when Saitama one-punches everything. Well, there are lots of fights between the other equally endearing characters, and Saitama often dodges around (or just tanks hits unphased) for ages, acting annoyed similarly to how you might feel about a fly in your house, before finally ending it all.
While parodies certainly exist in anime, it’s still relatively rarer than the original genre of whatever the show might be parodying. As such, One Punch Man’s premise was still somewhat refreshing when it came out, and more importantly, executed fantastically. The humor and ground-breaking (literally) action made some big waves when it first aired in 2015. Those waves never really died down until season 2 in 2019. The dream team for season 1 was truly lightning in a bottle, and obviously not sustainable (they pulled artists from different studios and what not just for the one project that was season 1). As such, the animation in season 2 was not amazing, especially in comparison to season 1, and many fans were enraged. Season 3 part 1 came out in 2025, and managed to be a slideshow (supposedly, I haven’t personally gotten to it yet as I’m waiting for part 2). It might be one of the most clowned on shows of all time at this point.
So what do I suggest? Well, definitely give the first season a shot if it sounds like you might enjoy it. It’s filled with lovable characters, jaw dropping action sequences, and great comedy, all at only 12 episodes. The story is not very serious as you might imagine, so you shouldn’t feel terrible dropping the show after that. Or you might want to continue to season 2, and I wouldn’t stop you. Many will argue that the show is nothing without the animation, but I personally don’t care much about animation quality in my shows, and I found the comedy and characters good enough for me to still enjoy season 2. It’s all subjective, you’ll have to find out for yourself.
Genres: Action, Sci-fi, Gore, Organized Crime, Romance
Status: Ongoing (though Season 1 is complete and should be self-contained)
Length: 10 episodes (~25 mins each), second season to begin airing October 20th 2026
This is a short, 10 episode show based on the popular game Cyberpunk 2077 made by CD Projekt RED (the goats who also made Witcher 3). Night City, as players would know, is a very messy dystopian futurist metropolis controlled by mega corporations, gangs, and unfathomable corruption in every sense of the word. It’s a brutal place for all involved. The story tracks David Martinez, a street-smart teenager struggling to survive. Following a sudden tragedy, he decides to install a piece of high-grade, illegal military cyberware to change his life around. But he might have gotten more than he bargained for after the decision thrusts him into the dark criminal underworld of Night City. David’s future is full of excitement, peril, and even… love?
I recommend Edgerunners for many newcomers to anime because in many ways, it doesn’t even feel like an anime. Heck, there isn’t even any Japanese cultural influence. It really is just a video game world brought to life, and what a fascinatingly disgustingly morbidly interesting world Cyberpunk is. But you don’t need to like or know anything about video games either. The only things you need to enjoy this show is a modicum of interest in sci-fi and a stomach for gore.
I have some issues with pacing and certain plot decisions, but it is nonetheless a great show that’s 100% worth watching whether you are new to anime or not. The setting is riveting, and man does this show look amazing (coming from someone who normally doesn’t care too much for visuals). You’ll likely also end up adding at least one of the songs onto your playlist. It’s an audiovisual masterpiece that brings the cyberpunk sci-fi genre to life like nothing else.
Genres: Action, Thriller, Drama, Suspense, Gore, Military, Survival, Psychological, Shounen
Status: Concluded
Length: 87 episodes (~23 mins each) + 2 movies (a little over an hour each), numerous recaps/spinoffs/side stories
For a hundred years and as long as people could remember, humanity has been protected by enormous circular walls with mysterious origins from giant man-eating humanoids called Titans. Young Eren Yeager has always dreamed of venturing beyond the walls. When the Titans suddenly breach the walls of his town and destroy everything, Eren retreats with the survivors into the inner walls, now reinvigorated to leave the walls one day to slaughter all the Titans that ripped his peaceful life away from him. He signs up for the military with his friends in hopes of one day joining the Survey Corps, a branch of the military focused on human expansion and exploration beyond the walls to uncover the truths of their world.
Even if you’ve never remotely interacted with any anime, there’s still a good chance you’ve heard of this one. Attack on Titan, or AoT for short, has been one of the most popular and culturally impactful anime (and originally manga) franchises of the 21st century. It is commonly credited with helping push anime into mainstream western pop culture. According to certain sources, AoT was the world’s most in-demand show in 2021-2022, making it the first non-English series to ever do so. Its final season run surpassed mainstream American shows including The Mandalorian and WandaVision to become the most watched series in the US. Many of my friends who barely or basically don’t watch anime have at least seen AoT and still rave about it.
Hence it should be no surprise that AoT has a lot going for it by combining a gripping survival mystery with high-stakes brutal realism. The dark themes and tone combined with the lack of common anime tropes make it broadly accessible. One of my few complaints is that a few of the characters can occasionally be too whiny, especially in comparison to the gritty and mature feel of the show, but it’s really not that noticeable in the grand scheme of things. Overall, the show boasts fantastic animation, an epic soundtrack, and a riveting mystery. It’s a survival thriller, possesses great world building, and explores numerous mature themes including: war, death, parental expectations, racism, classism, politics, the cycle of vengeance, psychological trauma, propaganda, greed, freedom, moral ambiguity, the role of the next generation, and more. Chances are something in that list will pique your interest.
AoT might seem dauntingly long, but just try a few episodes and you’ll very likely be so engrossed the next thing you know you’ll have finished it.
Genres: Action, Super Powers, Thriller, Mystery
Status: Ongoing
Length: 24 episodes (~ 23 mins each), season 2 in production
In this world, everyone has a trust value associated with them. With enough trust and affection, anyone could gain powers and become a hero. However, humans are fickle creatures and easily influenced. As individuals, corporations, and the media all fight to change the balance of power, how will the top heroes in the spotlight be affected? Were they deserving of the hero title in the first place?
This was an original work made by a Chinese studio and as such technically could be considered non-anime. However, I consider it similar enough, and it’s treated by popular anime databases as one. What country made To Be Hero X doesn’t really matter though, because it’s just a great watch regardless, and has none of the tropes that make so many anime feel immature and/or inaccessible.
To Be Hero X is a unique and mature take on the superhero genre, exploring what it means to be a hero, the power of media, and how perceptions can be wrong. Aside from genuinely mind-boggling animation and art, To Be Hero X also has a more than solid soundtrack and an engaging mystery at its core. You could consider this cheating, but having several story arcs be shown in non-chronological order also helps in making the show feel even more like a thriller at times. Besides oohing and awing at the visual spectacle, you will also have to pay attention and use your brain to keep up with the plot. There are even a few emotional moments sprinkled in, making To Be Hero X a truly multifaceted show.
7. Cowboy Bebop
Genres: Action, Sci-fi, Space, Western, Adult Cast, Neo Noir, Drama
Status: Concluded
Length: 26 episodes (~24 mins each), 1 side story movie (~2 hrs)
The ragtag members of the spaceship Bebop spend their days bickering and chasing dangerous criminals across the planets for cash. The motley crew includes ex-hitman Spike Spiegel, former police officer Jet Black, and amnesiac femme fatale Faye Valentine. Underneath their whimsy adventures is the inescapable weight of their personal history, with each member haunted by memories and an identity they cannot ever truly outrun.
Cowboy Bebop fits relatively best under the action section, but don’t expect blood-pumping non-stop action, because the show is more a genre-defying anime that blends sci-fi, space western, film noir, and jazz. It features various character-driven episodic stories that are often music-driven, focusing on mood, style, and character melancholy.
Now I feel like I must mention that I didn’t particularly love Cowboy Bebop myself. Purely from an entertainment standpoint, I actually somewhat struggled to get through it. As a very non-artistic person, watching Cowboy Bebop felt like walking through an art museum: I vaguely understand that all the works around me are considered masterpieces, but it’s more or less going over my head and I lack the emotional connection with it that would make the experience more enjoyable. With that said, it’s still on the list because objectively, it’s probably better than how I personally felt about it (and I still gave it a solid 7.1). After all, there has to be a reason it’s so highly acclaimed by critics and viewers alike, even now, nearly 30 years later.
To me, the show was too episodic and the characters too abstract. However, many people love the distinct mood of the show, following characters drifting through both physical space and existential void. Additionally, it is irrefutable how artistically rich the show is. Between the groovy jazz soundtrack and timeless hand-drawn visuals, the vibes are undeniably immaculate.
Given how many people I personally know that love the show, and how many people rave about it online, I think it’s safe to say you’ll likely enjoy it too. Just go in expecting less in terms of a gripping plot-driven story, and simply feel.
Thriller
1. Death Note
Genres: Thriller, Psychological, Suspense, Supernatural
Status: Concluded
Length: 37 episodes (~23 mins each), 2 summary movies
A brilliant high school student, Light Yagami, finds himself in possession of a mysterious supernatural notebook that has the ability to kill anyone when their name is written inside. His sense of morality and righteousness begins to bend as he uses the “Death Note” to execute criminals in an attempt to better society, as well as to evade his own capture by a similarly ingenious detective, L.
Death Note is a widely acclaimed and grossly popular series that almost every anime fan will likely recommend. It’s an exhilarating psychological thriller full of twists and turns as each side attempts to outwit the other. On the journey, you might even begin to question your own sense of justice, as you fight to figure out who you’d rather root for in this nail-biting modern masterpiece (or however you’d classify a 20 year old show). Death Note is such an easy recommendation because it’s simply amazing, broadly attractive, and has relatively light amounts of “anime-ness” to it. Additionally, it still looks and sounds phenomenal to this day, proving that good animation does not age. This is not just a “golden standard,” but rather the peak of what a thriller can be.
Genres: Mystery, Thriller, Suspense, Psychological, Time Travel, Romance
Status: Concluded
Length: 12 episodes (~23 mins each)
The ambivalent and detached 29 year old Satoru Fujinuma mysteriously gains the ability to go back in time by a few minutes, and uses this power to save several lives. However, when he is wrongfully framed for the murder of someone dear to him, he is this time transported a whole 18 years back and realizes that the murder is somehow related to the death of one of his classmates at the time: a solitary girl named Kayo Hinazuki. He works to unravel the mystery before Kayo or those he cares about in the present are harmed.
While I would not describe this anime as perfect, it’s a golden standard for the mystery genre in my mind. This is a concise and gripping thriller that also has strong emotional beats throughout. Aside from the time travelling (which really only acts as a setup for the premise), ERASED plays out mostly like a well-executed classic murder mystery, as opposed to the back and forth game of wits that Death Note is, and is also shorter. The opening is an iconic anime song, though I’d argue the ending song is also fantastic and heavily slept on (RIP Sayuri, the artist for the ending that tragically passed away in 2024).
Speaking of endings, unfortunately the ending to this story is quite controversial. I feel like I have to warn you of that given how much hate it’s gotten. However, I didn’t dislike it nearly as much personally, and I think the story is fantastic as a whole even factoring in the ending. It’s most definitely still worth a watch, especially if you like classic murder mysteries and touching moments that highlight the importance of human connection.
Genres: Action, Fantasy, Steampunk, Mystery, Thriller, Cultivation, Adult Cast, Lovecraftian Horror, Isekai
Status: Ongoing
Length: 13 episodes (~35 mins each), a few side stories, season 2 expected 2027
Imagine Victorian era England with steampunk meeting eldritch horror. After performing a luck enhancement ritual back on Earth, our protagonist suddenly finds himself as Klein Moretti in this new mesmerizing yet terrifying world. He quickly realizes that the original Klein had killed himself after being mysteriously embroiled in an occult plot, and is now tied up in it himself. Klein moves forward, clueless of just how deep, dark, and twisted this world is…
This is a pretty niche anime. In fact, you could even argue it’s not anime at all, as it’s actually made by a Chinese studio as an adaptation of an incredibly popular Chinese web novel by the same name. As such, this is technically a Donghua and not an anime, just like To Be Hero X. Once more, it gets counted in anime databases such as MyAnimeList, unlike western cartoons, and is close enough that I am counting it as “anime.”
Given how niche Lord of Mysteries is, it’s pretty difficult to find anyone who’s seen this even in the anime community, much less anyone who’d recommend it. In that sense I am aware that this might be an odd recommendation, as it certainly doesn’t have the mass appeal that many of the other titles on this list do. With that being said, this is a top 10, if not top 5 favorite shows of all time for me. It’s so unique and enthralling. Also many of my friends are Chinese and have either read or heard of the original web novel. So I was hoping that would interest them in watching this as a gateway to potentially more anime.
The most common criticism that I see online is that Lord of Mysteries is really confusing and too quickly paced. I think both of these are valid criticisms, but I would argue that a show shouldn’t need to make everything clear, especially in the first season. And it’s actually sort of refreshing, personally. I think the anime industry as a whole does too much explicit spelling out of things, and rarely produces shows that give the viewer time to breath and think. It’s like failing the classic “show don’t tell” advice. Lord of Mysteries might be too far on the other side, as it certainly is confusing to be clear, even if you really pay attention and think. But I think it’s far from nonsensical or impossible to follow. As for the pacing… I don’t have much of a defence on that. But they’ve clearly listened to the feedback–season 1 was 13 episodes and adapted the first volume of the source material, while season 2 is slated for 2027 and will consist of 30-40 episodes while still only adapting one volume. All in all, I think if you are ok with just understanding maybe 50-70% of what’s going on, you’ll be ok with this show.
Criticisms aside, what’s so amazing about Lord of Mysteries anyways? Well, I find the steampunk + cosmic horror aspect to be beyond fascinating. Heck, lovecraftian horror by itself in a visual medium (as opposed to books) is rare enough and would get me interested enough to watch. The world is just so rich, deep, and captivating, whether I understand it all of it or not. This show also has none of the tropes that make anime feel too “anime-ey,” and very little to no understanding of Chinese culture is needed either. I actually don’t personally think Lord of Mysteries is all that inaccessible at all beyond requiring basic critical thinking skills and for you to pay attention. It’s also on Netflix and has voices in Chinese, Japanese, and English, which make it further available. Lastly, the visuals are gorgeous and unique, while the soundtrack fits perfectly for building an atmosphere of mysticism and horror. This show truly is phenomenal and I cannot recommend it enough to people, new to anime or not.
4. Death Parade
Genres: Drama, Thriller, Psychological, Adult Cast, High Stakes Game
Status: Concluded
Length: 12 episodes (~23 mins each)
Death Parade is set in Quindecim, a bar where only pairs of people who die simultaneously can enter, with no immediate memory of how they passed. The cold and detached Decim acts as both the bartender and arbiter that passes judgement upon those who end up at Quindecim. Decim’s decision to reincarnate a soul or send it into the void depends on how visitors fare in simple games designed uniquely based on the circumstances of each their lives and moment of death. Through these various games, the true nature of each patron slowly comes to light.
Death Parade uses the afterlife as a setting to keenly dissect the complexity of human morality, the weight of judgement, and the value of life. It’s a mature psychological investigation into the fallibility of judgement and the arbitrariness of truth.
My personal rating on this was a little lower than the average (which is very high), but I think that is primarily because much of this show is episodic, and I typically lose engagement when a show is episodic. Additionally, I found a few of the characters slightly stiff and melodramatic, but maybe I just lack empathy like Decim. In any case, my personal lower enthusiasm for this show may or may not be shared by you, and even then, I still consider Death Parade a very-solid-maybe-even-great show. It’s a popular, concise, and very interesting philosophical drama thriller that’s certainly worth a try.
Drama
Genres: Drama, Music, Romance, Performing Arts, School, Love Polygon
Status: Concluded
Length: 22 episodes (~22 mins each), 1 prequel side story (~23 mins)
Kousei Arima was known as a child prodigy who dominated the stage as a pianist with the guidance of his strict mother. When she passed away, the trauma made Kousei unable to play any longer. Nowadays, he lives as a normal, albeit melancholic high schooler. His dull life is suddenly upended by meeting the eccentric violinist Kaori Miyazono, who urges him back into the world of music. As Kaori helps bring color back into Kousei’s life, the pair grow ever closer…
Your Lie in April is a notoriously famously emotionally powerful story about overcoming trauma, rediscovering passion, and human connection through music. There’s also a love polygon that’s probably a slightly weaker part of the show that may or may not interest you. While the show features school life and focuses on high schoolers, it is mature enough for adults to appreciate too, as the many grown-up men and women emotionally scarred touched by this show will tell you.
Admittedly I personally have way more criticisms than the average watcher, but even with that in mind, I still found the show to be solid. To the majority of viewers, it’s a beloved masterpiece. Your emotional connection with the show will obviously vary, but I think almost everyone will ultimately still agree that this show is poetically beautiful, with (as you might expect from a show about music) a stunning soundtrack.
Genres: Drama, Fantasy, Slice of Life
Status: Concluded
Length: 13 episodes (~24 mins each) + 1 movie (~2.5 hrs), 1 side story movie + 1 side story episode + 1 summary movie
The Great War has finally ended, leaving only a fractured and traumatized continent in its wake. Raised as nothing but a killing machine from a young age, Violet Evergarden is now left without a purpose or the one person that had meant anything to her. After witnessing the work of an “Auto Memory Doll,” someone that transcribes peoples’ thoughts and feelings into words on paper, Violet is suddenly moved by the idea and joins to become one herself. The job takes her on a journey to see various clientele, during which Violet slowly learns what it means to be human, and in the process, helps the broken citizens of this wartorn land finally begin to heal.
Man just writing that synopsis made me emotional. This was truly such an unbelievable show. It’s made by the absolute best of the anime industry, Kyoto Animation, and as always, their work is detailed, beautiful, and soulful. Countless people have already rightfully explained why they’re the GOAT, so you can do a quick search if you’re curious.
Violet Evergarden is easily in contention for the most visually breathtaking show I’ve seen. There’s practically no action, but just the art itself is gorgeous. Of course that’s very subjective, but no one would ever say it’s not at least noteworthy. The music is also phenomenal. As someone who normally cares about visual appeal infinitely less than the average anime watcher, Violet Evergarden is one of those rare exceptions where I do care, simply because it’s so astonishingly superb. And of course, even more importantly, the plot, characters, and dialogue are masterfully written as well. This show will emotionally floor you one moment, then give you enough wholesomeness to stave off depression for a whole week the next. And at least in my opinion, it does this all without ever making you feel like it’s designed to tug at your heart strings. The writing is just so natural and powerful.
Violet Evergarden is quite popular, and I would personally argue it deserves said popularity even more than Your Lie in April. Unfortunately I absolutely detest the sequel movie, but I’ll save that for another post someday. Funnily enough it’s rated even higher than the show though, so statistically, you’re likely to love it as well I guess?
In any case, Violet Evergarden is amazing. It’s one of the most well-written and poignant dramas I’ve ever experienced, covering themes of grief, love, empathy, guilt, forgiveness, the power of written word, and acceptance. Please give this a shot if any of what I’ve said sounds remotely interesting.
3. Angel Beats!
Genres: Drama, Comedy, Fantasy, School, Supernatural, Romance
Status: Concluded
Length: 13 episodes (~26 mins each), 2 side story episodes and a short 2 minute “alternate ending”
Seventeen-year-old Yuzuru Otonashi dies and is transported to the afterlife in the form of a high school where fellow teenagers who died unwanted deaths reside. He is recruited by the Afterlife Battlefront to rebel against their god-like student council president, Kanade “Angel” Tachibana, and take control of their own (after)lives. However, after getting to know Tachibana, Otonashi begins to question the morality behind his actions and why they’re all still stuck here.
Angel Beats is ultimately a story of acceptance. Much like Death Parade, it once again uses the purgatory setting, this time to explore philosophical questions about life, death, and God, as each student learns to cope with unfairness, find meaning in existence, and discover the power of human connection. Unlike Death Parade, however, Angel Beats is a lot more lighthearted as a whole.
At this point, I would classify the show as a beloved modern classic (it came out in 2010). Its popularity feels like a bit of an outlier, given its age, lack of manga/novel roots (it’s an anime original), short single season, not being an action shounen, and other factors that seem to defy what drives mainstream success. This is also one of the first few shows I’ve ever watched (depends on how you count it, but I would personally say second), which is why it has a special place in my heart.
Angel Beats is conceptually interesting, has great comedic moments contrasted with some powerfully emotional ones, and is topped off with amazing memorable music. The show seems to take its time initially, playing more like a fun and lighthearted comedy until about halfway through, where the plot and sentimental core really picks up. I do wish there were a couple more episodes to keep the pacing more consistent, but this is still a deservedly beloved show.
Despite being set in a school and featuring teenagers, Angel Beats does not feel particularly immature in any way. Although, I will say that relative to most things on the list, it may feel ever so slightly less relatable if you’re almost at or past your mid 20s. I think the notion of living with regrets will be relevant to most people at any stage of their life, but there is potentially something a bit oversimplified or naive to what these teenagers constitute as regrets. At the same time, depending on your perspective or level of abstraction, their regrets may also still remain poetic even if seemingly a bit childish on paper. Additionally, this show has some subtler hints of feeling “anime-ey” in the humor and dialogue. I don’t personally recall it ever being overtly noticeable or distracting, and it might be a good test of how you feel about (or how much you can tolerate) “anime-ness”.
Ultimately you’ll just have to give it a shot and judge for yourself whether it’s for you, but it certainly has my approval.
4. [Oshi no Ko]
Genres: Drama, Showbiz, Thriller, Mystery, Romance
Status: Ongoing
Length: 35 episodes (~24 mins each, season 1 episode 1 is 90 mins), season 4 in production
In the entertainment industry, celebrities often hide their true selves behind layers upon layers of elaborate lies and masks. Fans may or may not understand that these are just personas, but in either case, buy into the fabrications until the illusion is destroyed. Doctor Gorou Amemiya is one such fan, cheering on the rising pop idol star Ai Hoshino after seeing how her performances give strength to a struggling girl that has been one of his long-term patients. Gorou is uneasy when Ai announces a hiatus due to health concerns, before suddenly having her show up at his hospital. Turns out she isn’t sick, but rather pregnant with twins thanks to an undisclosed and absent father. The doctor works to give her a safe delivery, but how will this change their relationship moving forward?
I highly recommend that of all the shows I’ve put on this list, DO NOT SEARCH UP ANYTHING for this one. Just enjoy the ride. Note that the very first episode of the first season is essentially a feature-length film. This works well to propel you into the rest of the story, but I do recommend you block out the entire 1.5 hrs for one sitting.
Oshi no Ko was immensely popular when it first aired, drawing in viewers from all backgrounds including people who never or barely watched anime previously. This was true for some of my own friends as well. So I feel like there’s solid evidence in my mind that this show has enough appeal to even those that don’t watch anime.
Funnily enough, Oshi no Ko’s source material shares the same author as Kaguya-sama (a show that’s in the romance section later on the list) though the two could hardly be any more different in content or tone. Oshi no Ko acts as a dark commentary on the entertainment industry while simultaneously existing as a thriller mystery story. It tries to balance its focus between the main thriller plot and exploring behind-the-scenes showbiz with, in my opinion, mixed results. Nonetheless, it still remains highly intriguing, whether you are drawn by the mystery, commentary, or both.
Genres: Drama, Sports
Status: Concluded
Length: 11 episodes (~23 mins each)
Ping Pong is a masterpiece. It tells an exquisitely crafted, tightly-knit, captivating sports drama about high school table tennis players confronting talent, pressure, and most of all, purpose. In just 11 episodes, the show so perfectly uses the high-stakes context of competition as a canvas to paint a raw, deeply empathetic picture of the human condition. While so many sports anime focus on cooperation, the excitement of sports, and the power of friendship (which is why I personally don’t normally watch the genre), Ping Pong instead so earnestly explores the bittersweet realities of life in terms of aptitude, ambition, acceptance, failure, and drive. I don’t really know what else to say in terms of the plot, because it really is just one of those shows where you have to watch it and connect with the characters. Telling you more of the plot therefore spoils nothing, but also adds nothing.
This is one of my favorite shows, period. And I mean, potentially top 5 favorites. Do I think it’s necessarily a great recommendation for newcomers to anime? Not exactly. But I also think it’s not a particularly bad one. There’s no “anime-ness” to it. It’s just a clean, universally relatable, and powerful story. The animation might be a little off-putting and unconventional to some, but that is true whether you’re new to anime or not. So my logic is this: Ping Pong the Animation is phenomenal and I wish everyone in the world could see it. There’s nothing about it that makes it specifically hard to recommend to new viewers of anime, so why wouldn’t I suggest it?
If you do give this a chance, please sit with it seriously. I can almost guarantee that you’ll be able to get something out of it.
Romance
You’ll notice that all of these recommendations are for high school romances. There’s a couple of reasons for this:
- The industry makes way less romances focused on adults. I believe this isn’t simply because more youth watch anime, but also because a truly adult and mature romance often doesn’t contain enough drama to be worth a story in comparison to the uncertainties and wild emotions of teenagers. An adult romance worth creating a show for might run into the next issue.
- A lot of shows that have romance and feature adults I would primarily categorize as other genres (i.e. they are primarily a genre other than romance, and have romance as a subplot). Cyberpunk: Edgerunners is a good example of this.
- I’ve seen less adult romances than high school romances, at probably a similar ratio to the amount of each that exists. Out of the adult ones I’ve seen, none of them were good enough and/or didn’t feel very accessible to someone new to anime, such as Golden Time. A few of the adult romances I’ve yet to watch but I think I might really enjoy include Nana, I Have a Crush at Work, and Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku. I obviously can’t really recommend them though without having watched them first.
- A lot of romance shows are actually movies, but I wanted the list to mainly focus on shows.
1. Toradora!
Genres: Romance, Drama, Love Polygon, School, Slice of Life
Status: Concluded
Length: 25 episodes
Ryuuji Takasu is a gentle housework-loving high school boy who crosses paths with Taiga Aisaka, a small doll-like fellow student with a fiercely feisty personality. Ryuuji is surprised when he accidentally finds out that Taiga has a crush on his best friend, the student vice president: turns out she has a soft side after all. Coincidentally, Ryuuji conversely has a crush on Taiga’s best friend—what a shocker! The pair form an unlikely team to help each other get closer to their crushes.
Toradora is one of, if not the first anime for a lot of people, particularly those who are into romances or romcoms more specifically. It’s wildly popular, even today, 18 years later, and is broadly considered a romcom classic. I consider the romance genre to be one of the most challenging spaces in which to create a truly unique show, and Toradora indeed hardly breaks the mold either. Despite that, I’d argue it’s executed above average. Between that, its age, and its popularity, I personally consider Toradora to be the golden standard of the romcom genre. There is a reason it’s still so beloved and widely recommended to newcomers.
Now I will warn you that while Toradora doesn’t ever feel intentionally “immature,” it is fully set in a high school, and like with almost all high school romance stories–regardless of the country of origin or art medium–it is ultimately quite tropey and relies heavily on things like nostalgia or comfort. The somewhat familiar plot combined with the overall high school romcom vibe is why I’d said Toradora fails to break the mold. But once again, for what it is, it’s great. It never necessarily tried to be anything it isn’t. It just sticks to its guns and delivers near perfectly exactly what you’d expect: solid comedy, tropey but still lovable characters, lots of high school nostalgia, awkward teenage emotions, and so on and so forth. Of course I say all this, but honestly Toradora is still far from the cheesiest romcom you’ll find, and there are occasionally moments and conversations that are more emotional or mature than you might expect from such a show. Do not get me wrong, Toradora is ultimately still nothing significantly deeper than just a well-executed standard romcom, but the characters and writing are undoubtedly much better than a truly run-of-the-mill one.
I think Toradora is also a good gateway into anime’s “anime-ness.” While for a lot of the other titles on the list, I avoided shows that felt super “anime-ey,” Toradora still has a fair share of it, but within the context of a classic high school romance. As such, the “anime-ness” is heavily overlapped with the familiar high school romcom cheesiness you might find from any other country aside from Japan. If you can tolerate, or even enjoy these bits, then you’ll have a much better time getting into other anime moving forward. As a more prominent example, Taiga was not the first, and most certainly was not the last “tsundere” (a very popular character archetype in anime roughly defined by a drastically hot and cold personality), but she’s one of the more famous and commonly cited ones. A lot of people supposedly hate the archetype, but at the same time it’s gotten as popular as it is for a reason. How you feel about Taiga, and the many other sources of “anime-ness” in Toradora, would be a good test of what kind of show you should watch or avoid in the future.
Finally, for anyone who finds it easier to watch shows dubbed than reading subtitles, you’ll be happy to know this one has a particularly good dub that also really gives you that 2000’s nostalgia.
2. Horimiya
Genres: Romance, Comedy, Slice of Life, School
Status: Concluded
Length: 13 episodes (~23 mins each), 13 episodes (~23 mins each) of side stories
The smart and pretty Kyouko Hori is the most popular girl at high school. On the other hand, Izumi Miyamura is a seemingly meek and distant boy. A fateful encounter after school has them running into each other with their facades off: Hori is actually a very down-to-earth girl too busy to hang out with friends because of housework, while Miyamura has been covering up tattoos and piercings that make him look more like a gentle delinquent. After first opening up to each other, they begin shedding their false images at school as well, quickly building a network of friends that bring laughter and joy into their lives.
Horimiya might be about as “unique” a romcom can get before it is no longer truly a romcom anymore. It achieves this by having more confident main characters, meaning they mostly avoid the classic drawn out “will they won’t they” and/or “ooh do they actually like me” scenarios. Instead, they quickly graduate from the “pursuit” phase to form a much more mature and established relationship that’s relatively rare in the romcom genre. The show then becomes more episodic and comedic, spending more time on side characters, especially in Horimiya: Piece, the “second season” consisting entirely of side stories that didn’t fit in the original adaption that was the first season. Do not get me wrong, there’s still plenty of familiar high school romcom tropes, as well as general teenage angst cliches. After all, it’s still a romcom at the end of the day. But they’re not played up nearly as much, and executed in a way that it’s possible you might not even really notice it. In short, Horimiya is a very refreshing yet still familiar take on the high school romcom genre, filled with great humor and less melodrama.
An important note is to watch the TV series though, and not the OVA series (which is a lower-production value version created before the TV series).
Genres: Comedy, Parody, School, Romance, Slice of Life
Status: Ongoing
Length: 37 episodes (~23 mins each) + 2 movies (~1.25 hrs each), a few side story/special episodes, 1 final movie in production (expected to wrap up series)
Miyuki Shirogane and Kaguya Shinomiya are the president and vice-president of their prestigious academy’s student council. They are clearly in love with each other… except they’re both much too proud to admit it. Whoever confesses first would be the loser in this absurd unspoken game of theirs. As such, their daily interactions become an elaborate war of wits in which they try to get each other to confess first. The poor fellow members of the council are often unwittingly caught in the crossfire.
If Horimiya is about as unique a romcom can be before it is no longer truly a romcom, I would argue Kaguya-sama is as unique a romcom as you’ll find. The show plays out almost like a parody of a psychological mind-game “thriller” and is full of overdramatization, sarcasm, and all around quality jokes. Heck, if you choose the dub (which has a slightly different tone but is equally good as the sub), even the narrator gets in on the action.
I want to mention that Kaguya-sama is quite episodic, especially in the first 2 seasons (first 24 episodes). However, I think it does a good job balancing its episodicness with still having a sufficient overarching story. Even as someone who typically dislikes episodic shows, Kaguya-sama maintained enough of an A-plot and kept me amused enough where it didn’t matter.
Kaguya-sama, aside from being a genuinely hilarious and very beloved show, is an easy recommendation to newcomers for several reasons. First of all, it requires no pre-existing knowledge of Japanese history or culture. Having attended high school helps, and that shouldn’t be a particularly hard ask. Furthermore, whatever “anime-ness” this show might possess feels entirely appropriate given the overdramatic, parody-like tone and context of the show. In other words, whatever tropiness or cringiness that might exist in the show only serves to further the comedic elements, and there are no questionable fanservice (in the context of sexualization) scenes that you might sadly find in a lot of anime (except for in one of the side story OVA episodes, but we don’t talk about that episode).
This show is very immature, but in a good way. The whole point is to over-exaggerate the inherently ridiculous situation that the two main characters have somehow convinced themselves exists. The whole thing is just one long comedic bit. So expect more jokes than romance, at least for the first 2 or 3 seasons.
In short, watch Kaguya-sama if you want a unique take on the romcom genre filled with wholesomeness and laughs.
Genres: Drama, Romance, Shoujo, Supernatural, Slice of Life, School, Love Polygon
Status: Concluded
Length: 63 episodes (~23 mins each), 1 movie acting both as a summary and prequel (~1.5 hrs)
Tohru Honda is a kind-hearted high school girl who is left homeless after a family tragedy and subsequent events. She begins to secretly live out of a tent, but is discovered by the esteemed Souma family that owns the private land she was unknowingly staying on. The Soumas kindly take her in, but when Tohru gets caught up in a fight between Yuki and his hot-tempered cousin Kyou, she conversely discovers their well-guarded family secret: the members of the main Souma family are cursed to transform into their respective Chinese zodiac animal whenever they are hugged by a member of the opposite sex. Tohru’s life with the Soumas becomes one of unforeseen laughter, heartache, and love.
At its core, Fruits Basket is a story about generational trauma and healing; both the power and abuse of family bonds; empathy and loving flawed characters; grief, loss, and acceptance; and strength in vulnerability.
I actually wouldn’t necessarily consider Fruits Basket a great anime for beginners in a vacuum. However, it’s one of the few shoujo anime I’ve seen (shoujo meaning demographically aimed at teenage girls), and I thought it would be valuable to have some wider representation in my list. My main hesitation for putting Fruits Basket on this list is my overall personal dislike of shoujo shows. They often tend to be too melodramatic and cheesy (in the characters, plot and especially dialogue) for my liking. Fruits Basket is not exactly an exception to this, as you’ll find (in my opinion) overemotional dialogue between characters starting in just episode 1. To me, these interactions feel stiff, cringey, and unearned because there hasn’t been nearly enough runtime to endear viewers to the characters and their stories. It doesn’t help that anime as an art form often already includes more exaggerated character expressions. With that being said, this is simply my personal experience, and shoujo stories still have very wide and dedicated fanbases. Fruits Basket is one of the more well-known and highly acclaimed ones, and has enough going for it that even I thoroughly enjoyed it at the end of the day. If you can get over the potentially melodramatic dialogue, you’ll find a show full of great gags and moments of levity, strong emotional climaxes, complex and lovable characters, great pacing, and a very satisfying ending. The many opening/ending theme songs are also a highlight and have all been saved onto my playlist.
If you do decide to give Fruits Basket a shot, the first season is simply called Fruits Basket 1st Season, and is not to be confused with Fruits Basket (2001), which is a much older, incomplete adaption of the original manga. From what I’ve heard, it’s not bad either and has some very beloved songs, but ultimately is outdated and unfinished compared to the newer 2019 version.
FUN FACT: Laura Bailey, known for her role in Critical Role, used to do dubbing for anime in the 2000s. While she never explicitly quit to my understanding, she more or less stopped dubbing anime around the mid 2010s. However, after voicing Tohru Honda in the 2001 Fruits Basket, she did come back to reprise her role in the 2019 version. As a (mostly casual) DnD fan, I just thought I’d throw that out there.
Comedy
Genres: Comedy, Adult Cast, Slice of Life, Gag Humor… Sports?
Status: Ongoing
Length: 36 episodes (~24 mins each), season 4 in production
Iori Kitahara moves to a coastal town to attend the local university as a freshman while living upstairs to his uncle’s scuba diving shop. As he walks in for the first time, he is immediately sucked into the alcoholic (understatement of the year) and boisterous activities of the carefree Diving Club that frequent the shop. Aside from surely suffering permanent liver damage on his first day in town, Iori also manages to earn the disapproval of the cousin he’d be staying with, Chisa Kotegawa, as she walks in on his drunken absolute tomfoolery. So much for his dreams of the ideal college experience… or maybe this is the perfect life after all?
Grand Blue depicts what is essentially the most rambunctious and wild college fraternity experience you could imagine, with Iori getting up to the most ridiculous shenanigans with his friends in the most wholesome, endearing, and hysterical ways. Cheating and still flunking exams, miserably failing at picking up girls, screwing with the boys, anesthetizing the entire bloodline with the amount of alcohol consumed, and still somehow managing to learn to scuba dive in the meantime, it’s all quite the adventure for Iori and the audience alike–though perhaps misadventure would be more appropriate.
My friends and I like to joke that Grand Blue is the best sports anime, because on some anime database websites, it is classified as one. After all, it is about diving I suppose… even if that only ends up in a very small portion of the runtime. First and foremost though, Grand Blue is ultimately just an incredibly humorous comedy show about boys being boys. It’s in my top 10, maybe even top 5 favorite shows.
I didn’t put romance as a genre tag above, and that’s because aside from obvious gags, anything serious is incredibly subtle and manages to be only barely relevant starting in season 2. I think if we look back on the show after like, hypothetically 5 seasons (fingers crossed we keep getting more seasons), it might be a great slowburn subplot, but for now I didn’t think it was quite appropriate to be added as a genre. I just thought it’d be worth mentioning, as it does help to give a faint sense of an overarching story to a decently episodic show (not that the show really needs it, the humor is just so nonstop hilarious). Aside from the small romance subplot, the show also manages to maintain a certain degree of an overarching story by adding fantastic call backs in jokes, and more importantly, by having great characters. Now don’t get me wrong, you shouldn’t expect everyone to be some deep and fascinating character like the main character in an award-winning drama. But within the context of a pure comedy, especially starting in season 2, a lot of the characters exhibit surprising growth. This is done in a natural, unintrusive manner that never breaks the immersion of comedy. In fact you might not even notice the surprising maturity to certain characters or scenes until in hindsight. I think that’s often a hallmark of good writing.
Now the trickiest part about recommending comedies is that humor is fundamentally one of the most subjective parts of a show. I think being in your early 20’s will improve the chances of enjoying this show, but even then comedy is never universal. I’ve had one friend give this show a shot upon my recommendation and sadly not enjoy it. However, I am still hopeful that there’s a high chance you’ll enjoy it. That’s because I love it so much, the community loves it based on its incredibly high ratings, and everyone I talk to who’s already seen it before I even got a chance to recommend it loves it. So if it sounds remotely interesting to you and you’re looking for a good laugh, please try 2 or 3 episodes. Statistically, you won’t be disappointed.
2. Spy x Family
Genres: Slice of Life, Comedy, Childcare, Action, Super Power
Status: Ongoing
Length: 37 episodes (~23 mins each), 1 side story (~2 hrs)
Legendary spy Twilight’s next long-term mission is to collect intel on a prominent politician who rarely appears in public and only does so at the prestigious Eden Academy where his sons attend school. As such, Twilight dons the persona of “Loid Forger,” a psychiatrist and loving family man. To maintain his disguise and further his mission, he picks out 6-year-old Anya from an orphanage to be enrolled at Eden Academy, hoping to have her get closer to the target’s sons, and enlists unmarried city hall clerk Yor Briar as his pretend wife. Little does he know, however, that Anya and Yor are both hiding big secrets of their own: Anya can read minds and Yor is actually an infamous assassin who so happens to need a husband to maintain her own disguise. Even though the Forgers are a family of convenience built on lies, over time, their love for each other might just slowly become real…
As you might be able to tell from the ridiculous premise, Spy x Family is a comedy-focused slice-of-life anime sprinkled with action here and there.
It’s a very wholesome, fun, and incredibly inoffensive watch that’s truly suitable for any age or gender. The show is a particularly safe pick for viewing with family or a certain someone. I know several couples who enjoyed Spy x Family together.
The show might feel a little “anime-ey,” but it’s in a way that’s pretty indistinguishable from the overall goofy and comedic tone of the show. Even though the show might seem juvenile–as it’s meant to be accessible or even catered towards children–I, all my friends (who are all adults), and the online consensus all found it nonetheless charming and pleasurable to watch. Of course, are there way more exciting, darker, or philosophically rich shows you could be watching instead? Of course. But Spy x Family is quite unmatched in what it aims to be, which is a cozy, wholesome, fun show that anyone could appreciate.
Genres: Comedy, Music, Cute Girls Doing Cute Things, Slice of Life
Status: Ongoing
Length: 12 episodes (~23 mins each), 1 summary movie and 1 summary episode, new season 2 in production
Loner girl Hitori “Bocchi” Gotou has been grinding away at the guitar in hopes of one day making friends and performing live with a band. However, her intense (read: literally crippling) social anxiety has been keeping her from her dreams until one fateful day, the outgoing drummer Nijika Ijichi invites Bocchi to her band. The band members find joy and meaning in their companionship and music as their fleeting high school days pass by.
Bocchi the Rock plays out like a slice-of-life comedy featuring cute girls trying to improve their music. In between their charged performances are lighthearted stories of their daily lives, interspersed with Bocchi’s comically overdramatic breakdowns. Bocchi the Rock is widely loved for its painfully honest and relatable portrayal of social anxiety, played off with top-tier humour and uniquely creative animation. I’m no expert myself, but some have also commented on the genuinely solid rock music.
This one might be a bit of a risky recommendation, as it’s quite eccentric. It’s also the only Cute Girls Doing Cute Things (CGDCT) show on this list, as I find it to be a typically less-accessible genre for newcomers due to its tropes, cartoonishness, and overall “anime-ness.” However, in Bocchi the Rock’s case, I’d argue a lot of that flair is not due to it being “anime-ey” specifically, and more so thanks to the relatively unique form of comedy and interpretation of Bocchi’s condition.
At the end of the day, you’ll either love it, or know it’s not for you just 1 or 2 episodes in. If you want an eccentric and funny show loosely centered around music, then give this a shot.
Honorable Mention: A Risky Rec I Took Off The List
Genres: Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Romance, Video Game
Status: Ongoing
Length: Almost 100 episodes (~23 min each), several spinoffs/movies/side-stories, almost guaranteed more to come in the future once more source material is available
Sword Art Online (SAO), at least initially, is about a boy who gets trapped inside an immersive virtual video game world where dying in-game means dying in real life. To get out, the players stuck inside must beat the final boss. In all honesty, the show is quite trashy, with bad dialogue, awkward characters, lots of unnecessary and distracting fan service, cheesiness, and more. Many fans will say the newer seasons (post season 2) are actually quite good, though I would personally argue they’re still nothing to really write home about and still rather trashy even then.
For anyone who’s been in the anime space at all, even almost putting this show on the list might raise some eyebrows. And indeed, I am aware that it’s a very risky recommendation and hence took it off. SAO is a rather controversial anime. It’s difficult for me to think of any show, animated or not, that was as popular as SAO was when it came out, then get dunked on as hard since. Maybe Game of Thrones, but the earlier seasons were never clowned on, whereas the whole of SAO has been called into question. There’s actually quite a bit of nuance and detail to this change in community sentiment, however, I think one thing that’s undeniable is that SAO was generationally impactful and industry defining. Despite all the hate it’s gotten by now, to this day it’s still one of the most popular and well-known anime franchises of all time.
So why did I almost recommend it? Well, I think ultimately SAO got as popular as it did for a reason. Some of that was timing and luck: the setting and ideas were still quite unique at the time, there’s a lot of crossover between video gamers and anime-watchers, the animation was quite good especially for its time, and more. For a newer viewer to anime, I think SAO can potentially still be exciting and somewhat fresh just like it was for people watching it when it first came out.
It’s rather ironic because SAO is a pivotal part of why the industry has spawned literally countless “clones” in the almost decade and a half since SAO first aired. There are now innumerous shows featuring mixes of fantasy, isekai (other world), overpowered main characters, romance, video game-esque mechanics, etc., and out of all the slop, occasionally there will be a diamond in the rough. In comparison, SAO has become seemingly much closer to the slop than the diamonds. I say it’s ironic because in some ways, SAO’s popularity caused its own fall from grace. But the point is, SAO could be a much more interesting watch for newcomers to anime even if its reputation is highly mixed nowadays, because such viewers would have less reference points to compare SAO with. And I think it can be valuable or interesting to see a show that’s so culturally impactful, even if it’s not the best thing anymore (or perhaps never was).
Another part of why SAO’s reputation tanked so much was thanks to season 2. It is hated and clowned on beyond belief, and rightfully so I would say. In many aspects, season 1 is more or less conclusive by itself, so I would actually advise only watching season 1 unless you end up loving the show. In fact, I would argue you could even just stop after episode 14 in season 1, as the second half of season 1 is also questionable, even by SAO standards.
In the end despite all its flaws and mediocrity, the show was still a fun watch for countless anime fans at some point, and I think SAO would really help viewers determine their tolerance for “anime-ness.” There is a lot of immaturity, tropiness, and cheesiness in SAO commonly found in anime, and I think the show would be a good litmus test for your tolerance to these things as well. It would teach you what shows to avoid in the future.
There’s really too much to say about SAO, and I’ve probably already written too much. If the idea interests you, just try it out. You’ll know if you like it early on, and you’ll definitely know if you don’t even earlier.
Where Can You Watch These?
A lot of these shows are actually on Netflix, which a lot of people already have subscriptions for.
Unfortunately, anime is a lot like movies/live-action TV shows, where shows are spread across several subscription services (including HIDIVE, Hulu, even Apple TV, and many other niche ones). By far the one with the most complete library however, is Crunchyroll (an unfortunately pretty dislikable company). Depending on how busy you are and what show(s) you pick, you may be able to finish like, 0 to 20 shows during the 1 month Crunchyroll trial and potentially be able to decide if you want to pay for more. There are, of course, also very popular, uh… alternative methods of watching anime for free on the high seas. To my friends watching this, if you ever want to watch something, let me know as I have a Crunchyroll account I can share.
Final Thoughts
Anime isn’t just a genre; it’s a vast, fascinating form of media for storytelling just like any film or novel, driven by a dedicated industry and featuring stories of all imaginable kinds. Stories have no boundaries, and neither does anime. Don’t let preconceived notions of this medium fool you. There are universes of merriment, tears, and profundity just waiting to be explored.
I hope My Top 25 Anime Recs for Beginners has been helpful to anyone who’s new or just starting to get into it, or at least been an interesting read if nothing else. As I’ve mentioned elsewhere, you should always do your own research and I encourage you to check out other peoples’ recommendations as well. I am also happy to give more tailored recommendations if anyone wants to post their preferences in the comments.
I just wish to share the joy that is anime to more people. Whether you’re chasing a laugh, looking to lose yourself in emotion, or hunting for something to ponder, there’s a show waiting for you out there. Go find your next favorite story.
Until the next episode,
Henry